Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt
There are indications that Nigerians may experience another round of fuel scarcity soon as the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers on Friday threatened to embark on a nationwide strike.
NUPENG said the planned strike was as a result of the alleged sacking of 300 of its members by some oil companies.
Chairman of the union, Port Harcourt Zone, Mr. Alex Agwanwor, who said the proposed strike would be indefinite, gave a seven-day ultimatum for the sacked workers to be recalled or leave the union with no choice but to withdraw its services.
Agwanwor urged government at all levels and the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to prevail on the firms to reinstate the workers.
“A seven-day ultimatum is hereby issued for unlawfully disengaging our union members. Over 300 of our members were disengaged by some oil companies. We will embark on an indefinite strike if these companies do not reinstate these workers.
“If by midnight of Monday, July 9, 2018, the concerns of the union are not addressed by these companies, the union shall have no choice but to embark on an indefinite industrial action until our grievances are addressed.
“We are calling and directing tanker drivers, drilling workers and pump attendants to withdraw their services if there is no counter-notice to this,” the NUPENG chairman added.
Agwanwor alleged that the oil workers were laid off because they refused to sign a document that would turn them to casual workers.
Meanwhile, the union at the national level has expressed its support for the planned indefinite strike, even as it sympathised with the families of victims of the recent fire incident in Lagos, which claimed nine lives.
NUPENG Deputy National President, Bassey Harry, attributed the fire incident to bad road, adding that contrary to claims in some quarters, the tragedy was not as a result of careless driving by the tanker driver.
“We also give a full support to the zonal action. We want to urge the government and the Ministry of Labour to call these people to order within seven days,” Harry said.
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